For centuries, coatings of various types have been used for the protection and beautification of a variety of materials and surfaces. Contemporary paints and coatings comprise countless compounds uniquely formulated to fulfill the varied requirements of hundreds of thousands of applications. For example, “paint” ranges from the broad group of environmentally-friendly latex paints that many consumers use to decorate and protect their homes and the translucent coatings that line the interior of food containers, to the chemically-complex, multi-component finishes that automobile manufactures apply on an assembly line. Despite their near-limitless variety however, contemporary coatings are invariably a “passive” type of coating.
Most recently however, a new type of “active” coating has been reported. Such an active coating will monitor its environment and “adapt” as designed and/or appropriate. For example, an active coating may provide an active corrosion protection such as by cathodic-type protection or can detect and facilitate the repair of damage to the barrier integrity of the coating. Similarly, an active coating and system may change colors or pattern(s) on command, or automatically in response to changing environmental conditions such as temperature, moisture, or presence of contaminants. (See, e.g.,
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Such coating system(s) offer the potential to revolutionize coatings, the industries they serve and the products which employ them. Such a coating system is the subject of the present invention.